Last Chance Saloon
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
which began to appear in the 19th century as an early expression of border economics. Saloons situated near areas where alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
was not easily obtainable frequently took the name as a literal indication to customers that this was their final opportunity to imbibe before progressing to an area where obtaining, selling or drinking alcoholic drinks was prohibited. The phrase "last chance saloon" also has common British metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
ical use, based upon this historical context.
A lot of "last chances"
While the term refers to actual places that existed, it does not refer to a singular place. Many saloons on the border of dry areasDry county
A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Hundreds of dry counties exist across the United States, almost all of them in the South...
incorporated the phrase "last chance" into their name. Of the many saloons so named, two have found particular notoriety, to the extent that they may be sometimes be referred to today with a definite article
Definite Article
Definite Article is the title of British comedian Eddie Izzard's 1996 performance released on VHS. It was recorded on different nights at the Shaftesbury Theatre...
, as in "The Last Chance Saloon".
The first is one in Caldwell, Kansas
Caldwell, Kansas
Caldwell is a city in Sumner County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,068.-19th century:In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a branch line north-south from Herington to Caldwell...
. Dating from 1869, it was the last place travellers could legally buy liquor before moving into Indian territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
, where alcohol was banned. It gained prominence during an incident in 1874, when a posse
Posse comitatus (common law)
Posse comitatus or sheriff's posse is the common-law or statute law authority of a county sheriff or other law officer to conscript any able-bodied males to assist him in keeping the peace or to pursue and arrest a felon, similar to the concept of the "hue and cry"...
from Caldwell burned down the building, after erroneously believing that the objects of their search were inside. Because of this fire, it does not exist today, but the building's site is currently marked
Historical marker
A historical marker or historic marker is an indicator such as a plaque or sign to commemorate an event or person of historic interest and to associate that point of interest with a specific locale one can visit.-Description:...
by the State of Kansas as a place of historical interest.
The second is the "Heinold's First and Last Chance
Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon
Heinold's First and Last Chance is a waterfront saloon opened by John M. Heinold in 1883 on Jack London Square in Oakland, California, United States...
" in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. It was opened in 1883. Located on the docks of Oakland, it would have been the last chance for drinkers to imbibe before falling under the jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
of their boat's captain. While it wasn't a legally dry area, a boat could often be practically dry. Even if a captain chose to allow alcohol, it would have been relatively scarce and usually tightly regulated—if the boat's hold
Hold (ship)
thumb|right|120px|View of the hold of a container shipA ship's hold is a space for carrying cargo. Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged . Access to holds is by a large hatch at the top...
had space for it at all. Thus, Heinold's saloon served precisely the same practical function as the Caldwell example. It was made arguably more famous because noted American author Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
was an irregular patron. When in Oakland, London drank there often, gleaning insight from the tales of world-traveling sailors. Not only is the saloon commemorated by name in London's works, it is recognized by the California State historical marker program, the National Literary Landmark scheme, and the National Register of Historical Places. Nevertheless, it continues as a working business, maintained privately for the benefit of locals and tourists.
Technically, both of these businesses were also signed as "First Chance" saloons, as the proprietors wanted to market their business for travellers, irrespective of their customers' direction of travel.
The name persists in the naming of modern bars, though it is not always associated with the original meaning. Bars nowhere close to a dry county are sometimes named "Last Chance Saloon" as an homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to the earlier establishments. There are (First and) Last Chance Saloons in the phone books of almost every American state.
General use
In everyday speech, by BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
speakers of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, the term has been adopted to describe a situation beyond which hope or good fortune will greatly diminish.
Because of its infrequent use in relation to alcohol or bars, "last chance saloon" is usually employed as a paralogical metaphor.
The expression often lends itself to newspaper headlines, as it describes a complex situation in a relatively scant number of letters. Home Office minister David Mellor
David Mellor
David John Mellor, QC is a British politician, non-practising barrister, broadcaster, journalist and football pundit. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary of State for National Heritage , before...
in a December 1989 television interview asserted: "I do believe the press - the popular press - is drinking in the Last Chance Saloon". The ethics of the British press were then being scrutinized by the Calcutt Committee
David Calcutt
Sir David Charles Calcutt QC was an eminent barrister and public servant, knighted in 1991. He was the Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge from 1985 until 1994. He was also responsible for the creation of the Press Complaints Commission.-References:...
and the phrase caught on. In another example, John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
's 1995
1995 in politics
-January:*January 1- André Degroeve becomes Governor of Brussels-Capital.*January 1- Fernando Henrique Cardoso becomes President of Brazil.*January 1- Orleir Messias Cameli becomes Governor of Acre.*January 1- Divaldo Suruagy becomes Governor of Alagoas....
attempt to stave off critics by calling for a Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
leadership election was famously headlined in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
as "John Major's Last Chance Saloon"—but there are many others.
British automotive journalism
A subset of the general use for the term is its use among British automotive journalists. Because saloon has a uniquely British automotive meaning, applying the phrase "last chance saloon" to a story about cars is to use a punPun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
. Thus, it is common to see the phrase applied to the automotive industry. For example, the launch of the Rover 75
Rover 75
The Rover 75 is an executive car produced initially by the Rover Group at Cowley, Oxfordshire, UK, and later by MG Rover at their Longbridge site in Birmingham, UK...
was humorously described by the then BMW owners as "Rover's Last Chance Saloon", and Cerberus
Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States. The firm is based in New York City, and run by -year-old financier Steve Feinberg. Former U.S...
' 2007 acquisition of Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
has been called that car manufacturer's "last chance saloon".
British sports journalism
The phrase has a specialized use in British sport. In youth sport, it specifically defines a qualifying round of competition—the "Last Chance Saloon Round" — comprising students from schools who don't have a mechanism in place to determine a winner at the local level. Because a Last Chance Saloon Round does not connote anything substandard about a participants' skills, but merely the way in which their school participates in regional tournaments, this usage is slightly different than how it is used in Britain to describe professional sport. Sports commentators and fans will often use the phrase in conjunction with professional or OlympicOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
athletics to speak of a waning team or player's last opportunity to make good on their talents.
Literature
- Irish author Marian KeyesMarian KeyesMarian Keyes is an Irish Book Awards-winner Irish novelist and non-fiction writer, best known for her work in women's literature. She has sold over more 22 million copies worldwide and been translated into 32 languages...
released a novel called Last Chance Saloon, which saw its first US printing in 20012001 in literatureThe year 2001 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The film version of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic book, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, is released to movie theaters...
. Set in London, it was the story of several thirty-somethings who reach a point of decision in their personal lives. The novel was well-received, earning a place on Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
's "Best of 2001" list.
Music
- Bluebear's 20022002 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...
album was named Food Fight at the Last Chance Saloon. - The BluetonesThe BluetonesThe Bluetones were an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members were Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth member, Richard Payne, came on board between 1998 and 2002...
released an album in 19981998 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
entitled Return to the Last Chance SaloonReturn to the Last Chance SaloonReturn to the Last Chance Saloon is the second album by The Bluetones. It was released on 9 March 1998 on Universal Records. The album is currently certified Gold by the BPI...
. - Climax Blues BandClimax Blues BandClimax Blues Band was formed in Stafford, England in 1968. The original members were guitarists Peter Haycock and Derek Holt; keyboardist Arthur Wood; bassist Richard Jones; drummer George Newsome; and vocalist and harmonica player, Colin Cooper.In 1970, the group shortened its name to the Climax...
song named "The Last Chance Saloon"
Television and film
- In Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, the fictitious Last Chance Saloon in Tombstone, ArizonaTombstone, ArizonaTombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million...
was the focus of the First DoctorFirst DoctorThe First Doctor is the initial incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966. Hartnell reprised the role in the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors in 1973 - albeit in a...
serial, The GunfightersThe GunfightersThe Gunfighters is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, set in 19th Century America on the days leading up to the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...
(19661996 in televisionThe year 1996 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1996.For the American TV schedule, see: 1996-97 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
). It is there that the Clanton brothersGunfight at the O.K. CorralThe Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a roughly 30-second gunfight that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, of the United States. Outlaw Cowboys Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran from the fight, unharmed, but Ike's brother...
hang out for most of the story, ready to shoot either The DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
(mistaken for Doc HollidayDoc HollidayJohn Henry "Doc" Holliday was an American gambler, gunfighter and dentist of the American Old West, who is usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...
) or StevenSteven Taylor (Doctor Who)Steven Taylor is a fictional character played by Peter Purves in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A space pilot from Earth in the future, he was a companion of the First Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1965 to 1966.-Character history:Steven first...
or DodoDodo ChapletDorothea "Dodo" Chaplet is a fictional character played by Jackie Lane in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An Earth teenager from the year 1966, she was a companion of the First Doctor and a regular in the programme in its third season, from February to July,...
. The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon is the musical piece that is heard at various places through the serial, underscoring the threat and humour of the story. However, the sale of alcohol wasn't restricted anywhere close to Tombstone, and indeed the area's booming mining economy at the time of The Gunfighters, made saloons a vital part of the economy. Two of the first saloons in Tombstone were the Crystal Palace and the Oriental, and they provide an interesting template on which to judge the accuracy of the Gunfighters saloon. In the serial, music is shown as being provided by a stand-up piano and a single, female singer of dubious repute. In reality, the Oriental and Crystal Palace (along with the approximately 50 other saloons in business at the time of Gunfighters) were ironically styled after more staid British saloons, providing patrons with classical music, rendered by the city's brass band or visiting chamberChamber musicChamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
artists. Saloons in prosperous Tombstone were further more or less restricted to men only, and were also casinoCasinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s. Thus, as with other historical details surrounding The Gunfighters, writer Donald CottonDonald CottonDonald Cotton was a writer for radio and television during the black and white era. He also wrote numerous musical revues for the stage...
was far off the historical mark with his "Last Chance Saloon". - In Red DwarfRed DwarfRed Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
, the Last Chance Saloon was the saloon in KrytenKrytenKryten is a fictional character in the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf. Kryten's registration code on Red Dwarf is "Kryten additional 001". The name Kryten is a reference to the head butler in the J.M...
's subconscious when he was battling the Armageddon virus in "Gunmen of the Apocalypse". - In Xiaolin ShowdownXiaolin ShowdownXiaolin Showdown is an American animated television series that aired on Kids WB and was created by Christy Hui. Set in a world where martial arts battles and Eastern magic are commonplace, the series follows four young warriors in training that battle the forces of evil...
, the Last Chance Saloon is where the monks fight a live painting of a cowboy.